NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) -Napoli's Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter Milan just one point behind.
The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining.
To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began.
Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got rid of his marker before guide his shot into the bottom corner to give Napoli the lead in the 15th minute.
Genoa came close to scoring an equaliser on the half-hour mark as Andrea Pinamonti’s header from a free kick hit the top of the crossbar.
Genoa levelled in the 32nd minute when Honest Ahanor’s header hit the bar, with Napoli keeper Alex Meret initially parrying it into the post, only for the rebound to bounce off his body and into the net for an own goal.
The sombre mood at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium lifted in the 64th minute when Giacomo Raspadori drilled a screamer from close range, restoring Napoli’s lead and sending the blue-and-white supporters into a frenzy.
CALM URGED
However, a Johan Vasquez header six minutes from time silenced the crowd as the realisation hit that the title race had been blown wide open again.
McTominay urged fans to stay calm, reminding them that Napoli still hold a narrow lead in the title race.
"We have to stay calm, this is not the time to panic," McTominay told DAZN.
"Genoa are a strong team, they scored two good goals and we have to look at what we did wrong there."
Napoli will visit Parma next before finishing the season by hosting Cagliari, while Inter will next play Lazio at home before travelling to Como for their final match.
"We’ve got to keep the same attitude we’ve had so far, because this is what got us here, so keep going with the same intensity and hard work that we’ve done every single day," Raspadori added.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
